The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity offers the user the best of both worlds. It has quad-core power for games, a sharp Full HD display for films, and the keyboard dock makes typing documents and emails for work simple.

Full Review

Specifications

Full Review

Asus really brought something different to the party when it introduced its range of Transformer tablets, Android devices that could be transformed into a dinky laptop thanks to the addition of a keyboard dock. The last addition to the series was the excellent Transformer Prime – and Asus is also planning a range of dockable Windows 8 devices. But before they appear, here is the Transformer Pad Infinity, an upgrade to the Prime, which also comes at an upgraded price.

Operating system

Under the hood of the Infinity lurks a massively powerful Nvidia tegra 3 chip, running at 1.6Ghz. The Transformer Prime had the 1.3GHz version of the same chip and was pretty speedy. This time around the power is stunning – you’ll be able to whizz through high-intensity games such as Dead Trigger with virtually no stuttering – we did see the smallest of freezes at the start of each level. Obviously you can download titles from Google Play, but because it’s an Nvidia device you also have access to the TegraZone app for getting your hands on the latest games.

The operating system is Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and we’re hoping to see the Jelly Bean upgrade in the not-too-distant future. Mind you, Jelly Bean offers little more than smoother performance and navigation, and with such a lot of power under the bonnet, that’s not really an issue for the Pad Infinity.

Android has not been tweaked much by Asus – you’ll find the usual five desktops, which can be personalised by adding shortcuts, apps and widgets – it’s a shame, though, that there aren’t too many widgets to choose from. We do like the Task Manager and the battery widget, which lets you see how much juice is remaining in both the tablet and the dock, but aside from those you’re down to your usual mail, clock and weather offerings.

Good looks

A swift look at the Infinity might have you thinking you have a Prime in your hands – the differences are subtle. For instance, the Infinity has a slightly darker finish and the edges are a tad different too. Both have the very stylish spiral brushed effect, which looks great.

Despite boasting a big 10.1in display, the device still manages to stay slim, measuring only 8.5mm (less than Apple and Acer devices) and is lightweight at 600g, which means it is easy to hold in one hand in portrait mode, should you be surfing the net or playing with apps. To watch a film in landscape mode, it’s more comfortable to hold the tablet with two hands. The build quality is nicely solid and the power and volume keys, along with the HDMI port are spread around the edges.

Sound and vision

The major improvement between the Prime and Infinity is the display. The Pad Infinity boasts a screen with a Full HD 1920x1200 resolution, which is perfect for watching high-def films. We were really impressed with the HD video we streamed online – colours were lifelike, and images extremely sharp. It could do with being a tad brighter though, as viewing it in sunlight is difficult.

There’s plenty of on-board storage (64GB) so you can carry round plenty of music, films and apps – and the battery life is decent too – six hours if you’re watching movies, even longer for average use.

The display also makes browsing the web a joy – it’s really responsive, reacting immediately to prods and pinches – it registers the difference between light and heavier touches too

Snapper

A rear-facing lens lets you take snaps on the go – it’s an eight-megapixel snapper, producing crisp, lifelike snaps that can be shown on a PC monitor or TV without suffering from too much graininess. Its f2.2 aperture allows in lots of light, making indoor pictures as bright as those taken outside, Plus there’s a flash for nighttime shots.

The autofocus works quickly and our snaps were taken within a second of firing the shutter. There are options for tweaking images and for settings too. Plus there’s Full HD video capture and a panorama option. A front-facing camera is provided for making Skype calls.

The dock

The major selling point of the Pad Infinity is its keyboard dock. Not only does it offer a smart option for typing up documents and long emails, but it provides another USB port and double the battery power too. Attaching the tablet to the dock is a simple case of sliding it onto the connector, where it locks in place. You are automatically connected to the keyboard. You’ll need to get used to the compact size of the keyboard and the fact that the keys only have shallow travel, but once you’ve done that you’ll be able to type pretty speedily.

There is a touchpad, but it’s very average – we’d rather tap at the screen with our fingers, although we found on a few occasions when the screen was tilted right back, that we managed to knock the device over with our prodding!

Our conclusion

Despite the fact that the Transformer Pad Infinity looks virtually identical to its predecessor, it proves itself a worthy upgrade because of the sharp Full HD display. Plus that more powerful quad-core chip is a boon to media fans and gamers, while those who want to use the device for work will find it’s all the easier with the keyboard dock.